


Picnic

by craterdweller



Series: New Resolves [3]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 08:50:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2303834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/craterdweller/pseuds/craterdweller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ignores the comics. Sequel to Weekend in the Cotswolds but might be okay as a standalone. Buffy and Giles go on a picnic and began to talk and repair their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Picnic

Giles gathered the sandwiches, salads and pie as well as some paper plates and utensils but was lacking a picnic basket. When he’d asked Mary to stock the cottage he hadn’t mentioned anything about a picnic. He opened the pantry door and returned with a sheepish grin. Buffy noticed his embarrassment and came closer to read the note attached to a very traditional picnic basket.

> Master Rupert,
> 
> I thought you might take advantage of this unusually mild weather and take your mysterious young lady on a picnic in the meadows. I’m sure you’ve already found your favorite sandwiches and the pie, I just hope you had enough sense to look in the pantry. I expect you’ll be bringing her by for a proper tea before the weekend is out, else we will be quite put out. It is not often you bring visitors to your Nana’s cottage, so she must be quite special. Jed and I so look forward to meeting her that we might even be willing to overlook how long it has been since you’ve come around for tea.
> 
> Fondly,
> 
> Mary

Buffy giggled. It wasn’t often that she got to hear someone take her Watcher to task. But it was obvious that this Mary and Jed were quite fond of Giles. She arched her eyebrow in silent question.

“Mary and Jed own the farm next door. Mary was my mother’s best friend and after my mother died, she took it upon herself to act as a surrogate mother. And Jed, well, he taught me how to ride and take care of the horses. My father and I didn’t always see eye to eye, so when we’d argue, I’d often escape to Mary and Jed’s, and they’d set me straight again.”

Buffy smiled at him. “They sound wonderful and very fond of you. I’m glad they were there for you. I know Dawn and I were lucky to have you when Mom died.”

He shook his head and pulled away. “But that’s just it. I failed you both by leaving you.”

Buffy wouldn’t let him retreat though. “No, Giles. You were our rock when Mom was sick and after she died. We’ll talk about the other stuff later, but I don’t want you for one second to doubt how much you did for us. I know I was too messed up to say thank you, but I can say that now. Thank you.”

Giles pursed his lips, but nodded and attempted a reassuring smile. Buffy sighed to herself. Giles was his own worst critic. He wasn’t perfect, but neither was she. But if there was one thing she wanted to accomplish this weekend, it was to make him realize just how important he was to her. And to Dawn. 

The weather was indeed perfect for a picnic. The sun was warm, but not hot, and there was just a hint of a breeze that carried the scent of wildflowers with it. Giles thought that Mary’s suggestion of the meadows was just the thing. He chose a spot near the meandering creek, which due to the recent lack of rain, was shallow and calm. He spread the blanket in the shade of an ancient english oak tree and began to pull out the goodies from the picnic basket. Buffy kicked off her shoes and twirled around in delight. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were sparkling. In a word, she was stunning. Giles blinked. No. He must not have those kinds of thoughts about his Slayer. He ignored the little voice that reminded him that she was no longer his charge, but a grown, and very beautiful woman.

“Giles, this is perfect!”  She ran up to him and flung her arms around his neck, nearly toppling him over. “Now I can see why you missed this place when you were in Sunnydale. How long has it been since you’ve been here?”

Giles took a deep breath and pushed down his emotions. He didn’t like to think about the last time he’d been here, for it had been shortly after Buffy had jumped off the tower. But, he wasn’t about to ruin her good mood. So while not lying, he left out a few details in hopes it would escape her notice. “It’s been a few years.” 

“A few years …” she trailed off as she put it together. “Oh. You came here after I died, didn’t you?” She rubbed his shoulder gently.

“Yes.” He sighed. “I needed to find my center again. And this place had helped me do that once before.”

Buffy, once again was astute. “After Eyghon.”

“Yes.” He closed his eyes and waited to see what she would say or do next.

“I’m glad you have a place like this.” She sighed. “It does feel very soothing. Maybe it can work its magic on me. It could be our place.” She belatedly realized how that might have sounded and began to babble. “That is, if you don’t mind sharing. Or maybe you can help me find my own place. I didn’t mean to…”

He quieted her with a comforting hand to her shoulder. “I’d be delighted if it could provide you the same refuge as it has for me.” He dropped his hand and they sat in an awkward silence. Which was interrupted by a loud rumbling from Buffy’s stomach. “I’d ask if you were ready for lunch, but I think your stomach has already answered that,” he teased.

She swatted him playfully on the arm. “Feed me. Then maybe we can take a walk.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Buffy had been a little skeptical when she’d unwrapped her sandwich. She’d never tried a cucumber and cream cheese sandwich. The old Buffy would have wrinkled up her nose and said “Ew!”. Judging by the tentative look on Giles’ face, he probably had expected her to do just that. When she didn’t say anything but rather took a small bite and then grinned, he couldn’t help but grin back.

“Do you like it, Buffy? There’s some cheese and crackers if you’d prefer.”

“Yes, I like it. And yes, to the cheese and crackers. I can finally eat cheese again. Something I didn’t think I’d ever do after that shared dream with the creepy cheese guy. But, hey, I can’t help it. I love cheese.”

Giles chuckled. “Er, I’m glad. Glad that you like the sandwiches. They are a somewhat traditional for afternoon tea, but I was afraid they might be a little too British for you.” He recalled a time early in their relationship when he’d been a ‘bit too British’ and flushed an adorable shade of pink.

Buffy giggled. “It’s okay, Giles. I love cucumbers and I love cheese so what’s there not to like? Besides, I have this good friend that’s British, and I’d like to learn more about some of this crazy food that he likes. Maybe even find out what the heck a Jaffa cake tastes like.” She smiled at him to make sure he knew she was teasing.

Giles, happy to have a safe subject of conversation, teased back. “Well, perhaps I can be convinced to share a jaffa cake. But you must be properly warned. They’ve been known to be addictive.”

Buffy popped the last of the sandwich into her mouth and then demanded, “Cookie me!”

“A jaffa cake is not a biscuit!” He frowned in mock outrage, but he couldn’t keep the corners of his mouth from twitching in amusement.

Buffy loved the way his dimples came out when he was happy and desperately trying not to show it. “Whatever, gimme already!”

Giles finally gave in and handed her a jaffa cake, the original flavor that was still his favorite.

“Oh. My. God! Why have you been holding out on me all these years? These are incredible!” She held out her hand greedily for another.

“Well, they were somewhat difficult to get when in Sunnydale, and the way you lot inhaled food, I wasn’t sure they’d be properly appreciated.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Ha. ha. Fine. I’m appreciating. Now gimme!”

What else could he do but give in to her demands?

As Buffy packed up the remains of their feast Giles stared across the meadow. He knew that they had a lot to discuss, the problem was where to start. There was so much left unsaid between them.

Buffy glanced over at Giles. She may not know very much about his life before they met, but she thought she was pretty fluent in reading his facial expressions. His current expression was a mixture of dread and resolve. She figured he was trying to decide where to start “their talk” and so she decided to help him out. “What was your mom like?”

Giles blinked and then smiled ruefully. Leave it to Buffy to break the ice. “She loved the outdoors. Her passion, well one of them, was gardening. She could grow anything. My father once bought her a clipping, wasn’t much more than a stick, and he wouldn’t tell her where it was from. He bet her that she couldn’t make it grow. Turned out it was from a plumeria bush from Hawaii and she had that thing flowering by the next year.” He laughed at the memory.

“What did she win from the bet?” Buffy smiled.

Giles looked down, suddenly sad. “He was supposed to take her to where the plant originated from, but they never got to go. She got sick right after the first bloom.”

Buffy reached out and touched his arm. “I’m sorry, Giles, I didn’t mean to…” She paused thinking of their argument from yesterday. A tear leaked from her eye. This picnic had started out so well too. Giles had even begun to relax around her.

Sensing her distress, Giles moved to comfort her. “Shh. Buffy. It’s alright. You couldn’t have known and the memories of my mother are mostly happy ones. And it was quite a long time ago, but as I’m sure you can understand, I still miss her terribly.” He brushed away her tears with his thumb and then retreated back to a safe distance.

Buffy was sad for the loss of closeness, but she didn’t want to push. Before she could suggest that maybe they head back, Giles surprised her by continuing to speak of his mother. “She also loved to paint. Flowers and plants, of course, but also landscapes, animals, most anything really.”

“So you got your mother’s talent for drawing, did she sing too?”

Giles sighed. “Some, but she was terribly shy about performing in public. My father on the other hand, well, he was rather fearless, almost an exhibitionist.”

“Your father, the watcher?”

Giles laughed. “Yes, believe it or not, he wasn’t stuffy like me.” He meant it as a joke, but Buffy saw the underlying hurt.

She closed her eyes and decided it was as good a place as any to start. “I’m sorry for the hurtful things we said. We kept teasing you about being old and stuffy, long after we knew it to be untrue. I can’t speak for the others, but I think part of it was me not wanting to admit some things about myself. It was easier for me to live in the land of denial if I could make some witty comment and then let it slide. It doesn’t excuse our behavior, but I want you to know, that if I could take back all the times I hurt you with my thoughtless comments, I would.” She looked directly at him and prayed that he could see her sincerity.

He gave her that half-smile of his. “I wasn’t without blame, either. I too, wish to apologize. I was just as guilty of the age bias as you lot. I know I hurt you when I would dismiss your concerns out of hand. And I’ve been told, I have a tendency to abuse sarcasm. But, whereas you and the others could be excused because of your youth, I was the adult, so there was no excusing my thoughtlessness.”

“Giles! No. Stop it! I will not let you take all the blame, or even the major part of the blame. You put up with us, with me, long after we, I, had any right to expect. We treated you horribly, and with very few exceptions, you were always there for us. Now, please, just agree with me on this one.”

He looked up and Buffy thought he was going to argue more, but then she saw the corner of his mouth twitch. “You are the most stubborn girl.”

“Hah. It’s your picture next to stubborn in the dictionary.” Buffy gave him a full-blown smile, relieved they had made it through the first potential minefield.

He laughed and pulled her into a spontaneous hug. “Alright. You win. We’re both sorry and we will both try to do better in the future.”

“I can live with that. And hey! I’m not a girl anymore, buddy. I think being able to legally drink, vote, and drive, in any country makes me an adult.”

“Well, I’ll give you the drinking and voting, but the driving,” he teased.

She smacked his arm.

“Ow!”

She rubbed it gently to soothe away the imaginary hurt, deliberately ignoring her reaction to the solid muscle. “I think you mentioned something about a walk after lunch. Are you still up for it?”

“Of course. Let me just put the picnic supplies in the boot and we’ll be on our way. Do you have any place in particular you’d like to go? Do you want me to drive us into the city?”

“Actually, I’d love to see more of this place. You said Jed taught you to ride, are there still horses?”

“Yes, Otto has gotten up there in years, but I think he might enjoy a short ride. I’m not sure what other horses are around, but I’m sure Jed can rustle up an appropriate mount or two.”

“Maybe I’ll just watch you ride.”

“Nonsense. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know you won’t, Giles. You’ve always done your best to protect me, even when I didn’t want you too.”

He looked down at his shoes and Buffy realized that perhaps she had said the wrong thing. “I didn’t do a very good job of it.” He sighed. “But Jed is an experienced teacher. He’ll not let anything happen to you.”

“Giles,” she called softly but he refused to look back at her, his shoulders slumped in defeat. She caught up to him and gently took his hand. “Please look at me.” He complied, reluctantly. “It was meant as a compliment, not a criticism.”

He shook his head and looked back down at the ground. “Buffy, I’ve done nothing but hurt you and put you in danger since I met you. You should hate me. In fact, you should run as far from me as you can.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen. Because I don’t hate you. And everything bad that happened to me is so NOT your fault. And I am not going to give up on us, Giles. Maybe both our pictures are next to stubborn in the dictionary, but that’s how it should be, because we’re a team, you and I.”

He looked up again, and Buffy felt a glimmer of hope. “I don’t deserve you, Buffy. But you seem rather determined in this, and I know how you are once you’ve set that mind of your’s on something.”

“Damn straight, buddy. Now let’s take that walk.” She linked her arm with his, and smiled as he gave in.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Fulfills the Learning to Be Loved prompt for hc_bingo as well as the Relative Values: Families prompt for fanbingo.


End file.
